JoJo Siwa found herself on the receiving end of a pop culture lesson after her latest comments about a "new genre of music."
The ever-energetic Dance Moms alum received backlash for the bold claims she made while talking about her new steamy music video for “Karma,” a song that marks her pivot away from kid-friendly content.
"When I first signed with Columbia, I said I wanted to start a new genre of music," she told Billboard on Saturday. "They said, 'What do you mean?' and I said, 'It's called 'gay pop.' It's like K-pop but it's gay pop,'" she told Billboard during the April 6 interview.
JoJo Siwa claimed she wanted to create a "new genre of music" called "gay pop"
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Image credits: JoJo Siwa
Queer music fans were enraged and schooled JoJo, pointing out the rich legacy of LGBTQ+ influences in pop music that have been around even before she was born.
“She is VERY out of touch & definitely not the first to do any of whatever tf that was,” said one comment, while another wrote, "Can she stop acting like gay pop hasn’t been a thing…"
The youngster spoke about her rebranding process, through which she is departing from her kid-friendly content and coming out with an edgier brand
Image credits: JoJo Siwa
"That’s literally been around for longer than she’s been alive," another comment said.
"Jojo siwa saying she wants to create a new genre of music called 'gay pop' is the most ignorant thing on planet earth. like, genuinely so disrespectful and dismissive of every queer person in music who came before her," another wrote.
One comment said, “She is winning the cringy contest.”
Fans criticized JoJo Siwa for claiming she's inventing "gay pop" when it's been around "for longer than she’s been alive"
Image credits: Billboard
During the interview, JoJo spoke about her latest rebranding process and how she’s entering a new era in her life and career.
“It's that world of music where it's not necessarily pop, it's not giving you Katy Perry California Gurls, it's giving you Lady Gaga Judas,” she told Billboard.
On her way to turn 21 next month, JoJo brought an edgier look to her Karma video as part of her rebranding process.
"Karma" invites fans to a "deep, dark hole inside [her] brain," JoJo said
"You're going to a deep, dark hole inside my brain. It's only a door I'm unlocking for you: Karma World," she told ET and called the release of the new single the "beast moment" of her career so far.
"It's been something that we've tried to figure out the best way to navigate," she told the outlet. "I do have such a young fan base, and I do have a lot of kids that look at JoJo Siwa and still follow my music from years ago. However, you know, I'm not the same that I was when I was 14."
"That can live on and people can know that human," JoJo said about her younger self. "But this now is 20-year-old, 21-year-old, here for a good time [JoJo]"
"Let's be honest, let's be real. Let's make some art," she said of her new era.
When she explained the meaning behind the song Karma, JoJo explained that there are "quite a few different meanings in the song."
"Karma, to me, is something that you do to yourself," the artist explained. "That can be good, that can be bad, but you're always gonna get it."
"There's actually quite a few different meanings in the song," she went on to say. "Part of it's about life and choices you make. Part of it is about things that people have done to me. Part of it might even be about things that I've done to people."
JoJo went on to talk about the famous music legends from different generations that inspired the song.
"Michael Jackson, Prince, Elton, Bowie -- and of course, Gaga, take all the inspiration from Gaga," she told the outlet. "Those people, for me, that were just not afraid. Elvis was the first to be not be afraid to be different, to not be afraid to be out there, to not be afraid to take a risk."
"I mean, the sh-- Freddie Mercury used to wear onstage -- you would be like, what?" she continued. "I think now, people are afraid to be different and... we're all different. We're all weird. We're all a little f---ed up. And I think that's OK to show that."
